Automated telephone attendant

ABSTRACT

A telephony system ( 100 ) includes a user device ( 110, 130 ) configured to enable a user of the telephony system ( 100 ) to place and receive telephone calls, and a service node ( 180, 185 ) configured to communicate with the user device ( 110, 130 ) and to thereby provide the user with an automated voice interface to the telephony system ( 100 ) upon the user&#39;s initiating access to the telephony system ( 100 ) via the user device ( 110, 130 ). The automated voice interface permits the user to verbally specify a desired objective corresponding to any one of a number of predefined objectives, the predefined objectives including directory assisted call placement and at least one form of information retrieval. Upon receiving the desired objective from the user, the service node ( 180, 185 ) acts to implement the desired objective.

RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 10/671,413, filed Sep. 25, 2003, entitled “An AutomatedTelephone Attendant”, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 basedon U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/440,214, filed Jan. 15,2003 and entitled “System and Method for Providing PersonalizedConcierge Service”, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein intheir entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to telephony and, moreparticularly, to user interfaces within telephony systems.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the public telephony system of today, calling parties provide thetelephone numbers required to complete outgoing calls. For example, inconventional wireline telephony, a calling party receives a dial toneupon going off hook (e.g., upon lifting a telephone handset), and thendials a sequence of digits associated with a destination (e.g., areceiving party) of choice. Similarly, in conventional wireless, ormobile telephony, the calling party keys in a destination-specificsequence of digits prior to dialing a unique call-activation key (e.g.,“send”).

As a result, telephony users must remember or record frequently callednumbers, while retrieving other numbers, as needed, from paper-based,dial-up or on-line telephone directories. Although certain telephonyfeatures (e.g., in-phone memory, speed-dialing, voice-activated dialing,etc.) do aid this process, the burden of developing and maintainingtelephone contact information can be objectionable, if not overwhelming,for many users. Moreover, the conventional telephony interface generallylimits the user to placing and receiving calls, while doing little toenhance the user's access to other types of information and technology.

Consequently, a need exists for an improved user interface in publictelephony.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Systems and methods consistent with the present invention address thisand other needs by providing an interactive voice-based user interfacefor telephony.

In accordance with the purpose of the invention as embodied and broadlydescribed herein, a telephony system includes a service node configuredto communicate with a user device and provide a user associated with theuser device with an automated voice interface to the telephony systemupon the user's initiating access to the telephony system via the userdevice. The automated voice interface is configured to permit the userto verbally specify a desired objective corresponding to any one of aplurality of predefined objectives including directory assisted callplacement and at least one form of information retrieval. Upon receivingthe desired objective from the user, the service node acts to implementthat objective.

In another implementation consistent with the present invention, aservice node includes logic configured to communicate, via a switch,with a user device. The logic provides a user of the telephony systemwith an automated voice interface upon the user's initiating access tothe telephony system via the user device. The automated voice interfaceis configured to permit the user to verbally specify a desired objectivecorresponding to any one of a plurality of predefined objectivesincluding call placement and at least one form of information retrieval.Upon receiving the desired objective from the user, the service nodeacts to implement the desired objective.

In yet another implementation consistent with the present invention, amethod of providing a user of a telephony system with an automated voiceinterface includes voicing a request to the user, upon the user'sinitiating access to the telephony system, that the user identify anintended objective; awaiting the user's response to the voiced request;selecting, based upon the user's response, one of a plurality ofpredefined objectives including directory assisted call placement and atleast one form of information retrieval; and acting to implement theselected objective.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate an embodiment of the inventionand, together with the description, explain the invention. In thedrawings,

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary telephony system consistent withimplementations of the present invention;

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary method of providing an automated telephonyuser interface consistent with implementations of the present invention;

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary wireline call flow consistent withimplementations of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary wireless call flow consistent withimplementations of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description of the invention refers to theaccompanying drawings. The same reference numbers in different drawingsmay identify the same or similar elements. Also, the following detaileddescription does not limit the invention. Rather, the scope of theinvention is defined by the appended claims and equivalents.

Generally, systems and methods consistent with the present inventionprovide a voice-based, rather than a key-sequence-based, user interfacefor telephony. Such a voice-based user interface serves as a personaltelephone attendant, or personal telephone concierge, accessing andretrieving audio and/or text information based on a subscribing user'sspoken instructions.

In exemplary wireline implementations, the dial tone conventionallyprovided by the public switched telephone network (PSTN) is replaced bya voiced greeting. In exemplary wireless implementations, the voicedgreeting is presented upon the user's dialing, either manually or byvoice-activation, an attendant-specific code (e.g., a short key sequencebeginning with “#” or “*” and followed by “send”).

Upon receiving the voiced greeting, the user states his or her desiredobjective. For example, the user may wish to place a directory assistedcall, or may instead wish to retrieve information from a third-partysource (e.g., weather, stock quotes, driving directions, etc.).Accordingly, the voice-based system interface (also referred tohereinafter as the personal attendant or, more simply, the attendant)applies speech recognition to decipher the user's statement and therebydetermine the nature of the user's intent.

If necessary, the personal attendant also uses voiced instructions tosolicit a further refinement of the user's objective. For example, ifthe user wishes to place a directory assisted call, the personalattendant may solicit the user's spoken indication of the identity ofthe receiving party. Alternatively, if the user wishes to retrievethird-party information, the personal attendant may solicit the user'sspoken indication of the precise nature of that information.

Upon determining the user's specific objective, the personal attendantretrieves the relevant information from an appropriate source (e.g.,from a local or remote telephone directory database, or from athird-party vendor database) and acts to carry out the user's intent.For example, when the user wishes to place a call, the personalattendant can provide the destination number to the user's originatingtelephone switch so that the call can proceed automatically tocompletion. Alternatively, when the user requests third-partyinformation, the personal attendant can voice the retrieved data back tothe user. In such case, audio data (e.g., “.wav” or other audio formatfiles) are played directly for the user, while other data are firstconverted to audio form (e.g., via text-to-speech (TTS) technology)before being played for the user.

Advantageously, systems and methods consistent with present inventionfree the user from having to remember or record telephone numbers.Through simple verbal interactions with the personal attendant, the usercan place calls and gain access to a wide variety of information just bypicking up a telephone handset, and without ever having to dial adestination number.

EXEMPLARY SYSTEM

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary telephony system 100 in which the principlesof the present invention can be implemented. As shown, system 100includes a wireline user device 110, a service switching point (SSP)120, a wireless user device 130, a wireless base station 140, a mobileswitching center (MSC) 150, and a home location register (HLR) 160.Additionally, system 100 includes a service control point (SCP) 170, aswell as first and second voice-attendant service nodes (VASNs) 180, 185.

Wireline user device 110 may be any known type of wireline telephone.For example, wireline device 110 can be a conventional dual-tonemultiple-frequency (DTMF) telephone located on a customer premises andcoupled to a central telephone office via a twisted wire pair.Alternatively, and again by way of example, wireline device 110 can bean integrated services digital network (ISDN) telephone, located oncustomer premises and coupled to a central phone office via either anISDN basic rate interface (BRI) or an ISDN primary rate interface (PRI).

SSP 120 may be any known type of wireline telephony switch. For example,SSP 120 can be a conventional central office switch, providing multiplewireline customers access to the PSTN. By selectively connecting toother similar switches (not shown), such a central office switch cancouple a local device (e.g., wireline device 110) to any other deviceconnected to the PSTN. Routing between such switches can be carried out,for example, via the well known Signaling System No. 7 (SS7).

Wireless user device 130 may be any known type of wireless telephone,and base station 140 can be any suitable wireless transceiver. Forexample, wireless device 130 and base station 140 can communicate viawell known time-division multiple-access (TDMA), frequency-divisionmultiple-access (FDMA), and/or code-division multiple-access (CDMA)techniques.

MSC 150 may be any known type of wireless telephony switch. Much as SSP120 serves wireline user device 110, MSC 150 serve wireless user device130 (e.g., by providing access to the PTSN). Indeed, in certainimplementations, MSC 150 may perform functions for wireless user device130 that are similar to those performed by SSP 120 for wireline userdevice 110.

HLR 160 may be any suitable mobile tracking database (e.g., a dynamicdatabase maintained on a computer server situated at a site owned by amobile system operator). As is well known in the art, HLR 160 works incombination with other similar registers (not shown) to track thelocation of wireless device 130 (i.e., since wireless device 130 is freeto roam and thus communicate via other base stations and switchingcenters not shown).

SCP 170 may be any device capable of providing data, from a databaseand/or other digital services, to telephony switches such as SSP 120 andMSC 150. By way of example, and as is well known in the art, suchdevices are commonly used to provide services such as 800-numberdialing, credit card verification, etc.

Each of VASNs 180 and 185 may be any processing device (e.g., adedicated computer and/or computer server) capable of providing thehereinafter described functionality of the telephone voice attendant ofthe present invention. Each of VASNs 180 and 185 may include one or morecontrol interfaces for communicating with SCP 170, SSP 120 and/or MSC150. For sake of clarity, VASN 180 is shown and hereinafter described asproviding voice-attendant services for a user of wireline device 110,while VASN 185 is shown and hereinafter described as providingvoice-attendant services for a user of wireless device 130. However, aswill be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, a single servicenode can be configured to provide voice-attendant services to bothusers.

In addition, it should be understood that a single VASN can provideservices for a number of users. Further, each of VASNs 180 and 185 maybe implemented in hardware, software, or any combination of hardwareand/or software, and is not limited to any specific combination ofhardware circuitry and/or software. When implemented in software, VASNs180 and 185 may include one or more processors that execute sequences ofinstructions contained in a computer-readable medium to perform theprocess described hereafter. The computer readable medium may be part ofVASNs 180 and 185 or located external to VASNs 180 and 185. Whenimplemented in hardware, VASNs 180 and 185 may include hardwiredcircuitry for performing the process described hereafter. In each case,VASNs 180 and 185 may include one or more interfaces for communicatingwith SSP 120, MSC 150, and/or SCP 170.

Exemplary system 100 may, by way of example and without limiting thescope of the present invention, be configured to operate in accordancewith the well known Advanced Intelligent Network (AIN) protocols,developed by Telcordia (formerly Bellcore). AIN is a North Americanindustry standard telephone network architecture that separates servicelogic from switching equipment, thereby allowing for the addition ofsystem services without requiring switch design changes (see, forexample, Telcordia AIN Release 0.2 (AIN0.2)).

To achieve AIN compliance, certain components of system 100 cancommunicate in accordance with suitable industry standard protocols. Forexample, communications between SSP 120 and SCP 170 may conform toTelcordia Generic Requirement 1299 (GR-1299), while communicationsbetween SSP 120 and VASN 180 may conform to Telcordia GenericRequirement 1129 (GR-1129).

Additionally, communications between SCP 170 and VASN 180 may conform toTelcordia Special Report 3511 (SR 3511). Communications betweencomponents impacting the wireless portion of system 100 (e.g., among MSC150, HLR 160, SCP 170, and VASN 185) may conform to ElectronicsIndustries Association (EIA) Interim Standard 41 (IS-41).

System 100 may also be configured, again by way of example, to operatein accordance with the international version of AIN. The internationalintelligent network standard is developed by the InternationalTelecommunications Union (ITU) and generally endorses the concepts ofAIN (see, for example, ITU Capability Set 2, or simply ITU-CS2). In sucha case, the various components of system 100 can communicate viaindustry standard protocols set forth in the well known ITU IntelligentNetwork Application Protocol (INAP) core capability descriptions.

In FIG. 1, heavy lines between components indicate voice-and-datacommunication paths, while lighter lines between components indicatedata-only communication paths. Additionally, a lightning strike betweenwireless device 130 and base station 140 indicates a wirelessvoice-and-data communication path. In other implementations consistentwith the present invention, any combination of wired, wireless andoptical communication paths may exist between the components in FIG. 1,and any path may communicate any combination of voice and/or data.

EXEMPLARY PROCESSING

A user of wireline device 110 initiates access to system 100 by takingdevice 110 off hook (e.g., by lifting a telephone handset, or by pushinga “talk” button). SSP 120 then detects the off hook condition, and,rather than providing a dial tone to the user and waiting for the userto key in a destination telephone number, sends an alert message to SCP170 (i.e., a message indicating that device 110 has gone off hook).

SSP 120 may, for example, implement a call-processing model specified byAIN. According to such a model, each telephone call is treated as asequence of logical steps, each step (or at least certain steps)including a trigger detection point that can be enabled for asubscribing user (e.g., based on a subscription profile available at SCP170). In an exemplary implementation, a trigger detection point can beenabled at SSP 120, for wireline device 110, so that an alert message issent from SSP 120 to SCP 170 immediately upon the user's taking device110 off hook.

Upon receiving the alert message from SSP 120, and upon verifying avoice-attendant subscription for wireline device 110, SCP 170 sends amessage back to SSP 120, requesting that SSP 120 connect to VASN 180.Consequently, SSP 120 establishes a voice path between wireline device110 and VASN 180, and voiced interaction between the user of device 110and VASN 180 can begin.

Initially, VASN 180 voices a greeting (e.g., “Hello. How can I helpyou?”) and awaits a verbal response from the user. The user's responsecan be directed to any one of a number of predefined objectivessupported by VASN 180. For example, VASN 180 may, at a minimum, supportdirectory assisted call placement and at least one form of informationretrieval (e.g., retrieval of bank account data, weather information,stock market quotes, driving directions, Internet search results,personal contact and scheduling data, utility order status, e-mails,etc.).

Accordingly, VASN 180 applies automated speech recognition to decipherthe user's response and determine which of the supported objectives theuser intends. For example, a user response of “Call” or “Directory” canbe mapped to directory assisted call placement, while a user response of“Data” or “Info” can be mapped to a particular (e.g., user preferred)form of information retrieval. Other, more targeted responses (e.g.,“Bank”, “Weather”, “Stocks”, “Directions”, “Web Search”, “Contact”,“Appointment”, “Order Status”, etc.) can be mapped to other supportedforms of information retrieval, and undecipherable responses can evoke asuitable voiced error message (e.g., “I'm sorry. I did not understandyou. Please try again.”).

Once the user's objective is determined, VASN 180 may, if necessary,voice additional instructions to the user in order to solicit the user'sspoken refinement of his or her intent. For example, if VASN 180determines that the user wants directory assisted call placement, VASN180 may voice a request for the geographic location (e.g., city andstate) and identity (e.g., given name and surname) of the destinationthe user wishes to reach. Or, as another example, if VASN 180 determinesthat the user wishes to perform an Internet search, VASN 180 may voice arequest for search terms and, optionally, a preferred search engine. Asa further example, if VASN 180 determines that the user wishes toretrieve e-mail messages, VASN 180 may request the user's accountinformation, service provider information, etc.

Upon determining the user's precise intent, VASN 180 acts to carry outthat intent. For example, in an instance of directory assisted callplacement, VASN 180 may retrieve a telephone number for the identifieddestination (e.g., from a directory database, either local or remote)and return the number to SSP 120 so that the user's call can proceedautomatically to completion. Alternatively, in an instance ofinformation retrieval (e.g., when the user has requested an Internetsearch or stock market data), VASN 180 can retrieve the requested data(e.g., from a local database, or from an outside service provider) andvoice it back to the user (e.g., by way of a TTS system).

Thus, through straightforward voice interaction with VASN 180, a user ofwireline device 110 can place calls and access various types ofinformation just by picking up a telephone handset. There is never aneed for the user to remember or record telephone numbers.

Turning now to the wireless portion of system 100, a user of wirelessdevice 130 initiates access to system 100 by dialing (either manually orby voice activated dialing) a brief attendant-specific code (e.g., a #code or a * code, followed by “send”). Upon receiving the code andrecognizing that the user wants the voice attendant, MSC 150 sends amessage to SCP 170, requesting that SCP 170 locate VASN 185. Then, uponreceiving the location of VASN 185, MSC 150 connects wireless device 130with VASN 185, and voiced interaction between the wireless user and VASN185 can commence as described above in the wireline context.

FIG. 2 depicts the above described operation of system 100 in flowchartform. In FIG. 2, call processing begins when a user initiates systemaccess (e.g., by taking wireline device 110 off hook, or by keying in anattendant-specific code on wireless device 130) (act 205). Thereafter,the telephony system detects that the user has initiated access (e.g.,SSP 120 detects that wireline device 110 has gone off hook, or MSC 150receives the attendant-specific code from wireless device 130), verifiesthe user's voice-attendant subscription (e.g., SCP 170 confirms thatwireline device 110, or wireless device 130, is associated with a validsubscriber account), and establishes a user-to-attendant voice link(e.g., SSP 120 connects wireline device 110 to VASN 180, or MSC 150connects wireless device 130 to VASN 185) (act 210).

Once the user-to-attendant voice link is established, the VASN voices arequest that the user state his or her intended objective (e.g., VASN180 voices a greeting to a user of wireline device 110, or VASN 185voices a greeting to a user of the wireless device 130) (act 215). Uponreceiving the user's spoken response, the attendant (i.e., either VASN180, or VASN 185, as appropriate) applies speech recognition to assessthe user's intent. For example, the VASN can determine whether the userintends information retrieval, directory assisted call placement, orsession termination (acts 220, 230, 240).

If the VASN determines that the user wants information retrieval (e.g.,Internet search results, market statistics, weather forecasts, etc.),then the VASN can solicit further refinement of the user's intent beforeretrieving and voicing the relevant data back to the user (act 225).Alternatively, if the VASN determines that the user wants directoryassisted call placement, then the VASN can solicit the location andidentity of the intended destination before retrieving a correspondingtelephone number and routing the user's call (act 235).

If the VASN determines that the user wants neither informationretrieval, nor directory assisted call placement, and instead prefers toterminate the voice-attendant session, then the VASN can simply end thecall (e.g., tear down the user-to-attendant voice link and endprocessing) (act 245). Or, if the VASN is unable to determine the user'sintent, the VASN can simply state as much and request that the user tryagain (return to act 215).

To further illuminate operation of exemplary system 100, FIGS. 3 and 4depict exemplary call flows, or message flows, between systemcomponents. FIG. 3 depicts call flow in the wireline context, while FIG.4 depicts analogous call flow in the wireless context. In FIGS. 3 and 4,AIN-compliant messages (e.g., messages conforming to GR-1129, GR-1299and SR-3511 for FIG. 3, and messages conforming to IS-41 for FIG. 4) areshown for purposes of illustration and do not limit the scope of thepresent invention.

In FIG. 3, processing begins (at a point indicated by an encircledletter A) when a user takes wireline device 110 off hook and thusestablishes a voice path between wireline device 110 and SSP 120 (act305). Upon detecting the off hook condition of device 110, SSP 120 sendsan alert message (e.g., an AIN Origination_Attempt message) to SCP 170(act 310). The alert message can, for example, include a subscribernumber (e.g., a telephone number) associated with wireline device 110.

Upon receiving the alert message from device 110, SCP 170 verifies thatdevice 110 is a voice-attendant subscriber and sends an alert message(e.g., an AIN Send_to_Resource message) to VASN 180, requesting thatVASN 180 reserve a communication channel, or port, for upcomingexchanges with device 110 (act 315). In response, VASN 180 sends ananswer message (e.g., an AIN Send_to_Resource_Result message) back toSCP 170, providing an appropriate port number (act 320).

Upon receiving the port number from VASN 180, SCP 170 relays it back toSSP 120 (e.g., via an AIN Send_to_Resource message) (act 325).Consequently, a voice path is established between wireline device 110and VASN 180.

VASN 180 then sends a confirmation (e.g., an AINExtended_Info_from_Resource message) to SCP 170, indicating that thevoice path to wireline device 110 is active (act 330). SCP 170 sends anacknowledgement (e.g., via an AIN Extended_Info_to_Resource message) toVASN 180, indicating that VASN 180 can proceed (act 335).

At such time (as indicated by an encircled letter B), VASN 180 engagesin voiced interaction with the user of wireline device 110. For example,as described in detail above, VASN 180 can play a greeting to the userand then collect data based on the user's verbal response to thegreeting. For sake of the illustrative example of FIG. 3, the user ispresumed to request directory assisted call placement to a stateddestination of his or her choice.

Accordingly, VASN 180 retrieves a telephone number for the stateddestination (e.g., from a directory database, either local to or remotefrom VASN 180, as described above) and returns the number to SCP 170(e.g., via an AIN Extended_Info_from_Resource message) (act 340). SCP170 then passes the phone number back to SSP 120 (e.g., via an AINAnalyze_Route message) (act 345) and sends an acknowledgement (e.g., anAIN Extended_info_to_Resource message) back to VASN 180 (act 350).

VASN 180 then relinquishes the voice path to SSP 120 and breakscommunication with SCP 170 (e.g., via an AIN Resource Clear message). Atthe same time (as indicated by an encircled letter C), SSP 120 uses thedestination number to complete the user's call (i.e., to route the callfrom device 110 to the destination).

In FIG. 4, processing begins (at a point indicated by an encircledletter A) when a user of wireless device 130 keys in anattendant-specific code and thus causes device 130 to establish a voicepath to MSC 150 (e.g., via an IS-41 Call Setup message) (act 405).Subsequently, MSC 150 sends a message (e.g., an IS-41Origination_Request message) to SCP 170 (act 410). The message can, forexample, include a subscriber number (e.g., a telephone number)associated with wireless device 130.

SCP 170 then verifies that device 130 is a voice-attendant subscriberand sends an alert message (e.g., an IS-41 Seize_Resources_Requestmessage) to VASN 185, requesting that VASN 185 reserve a communicationchannel for upcoming exchanges with device 130 (act 415). In response,VASN 185 sends an answer message (e.g., an IS-41Seize_Resources_Response message) to SCP 170, indicating the channel forexchanges between wireless device 130 and VASN 185 (act 420).

Upon receiving the channel from VASN 185, SCP 170 relays it back to MSC150 (e.g., via an IS-41 Connection_Response message) (act 425). MSC 150then uses the channel to establish a voice path between wireless device130 and VASN 185 (e.g., via an IS-41 Call Setup message) (act 430).

Thereafter, VASN 185 sends a message (e.g., an IS-41 Instruction_Requestmessage) to SCP 170, indicating that the voice path to wireless device130 is active (act 435). SCP 170 then instructs VASN 185 to proceed withvoice-attendant services (e.g., by way of an IS-41 SRF_Directive_Requestmessage) (act 440).

At such time (as indicated by an encircled letter B), VASN 185 engagesin voiced interaction with the user of wireless device 130. For example,as described in detail above, VASN 185 can play a greeting to the userand then collect data based on the user's verbal response. For sake ofthe illustrative example of FIG. 4, the user is presumed to requestdirectory assisted call placement to a stated destination of his or herchoice.

Accordingly, VASN 185 retrieves a telephone number for the stateddestination and returns that number to SCP 170 (e.g., via an IS-41SRF_Directive_Response message) (act 445). SCP 170 then passes thenumber back to MSC 150 (e.g., via an IS-41 Origination_Response message)(act 450).

Subsequently, MSC 150 and SCP 170 break communications with VASN 185(e.g., via an IS-41 Call Release message and an IS-41Instruction_Response message, respectively (acts 455, 460). Additionally(as indicated by an encircled letter C), MSC 150 uses the destinationnumber to complete the user's call (i.e., to route the call fromwireless device 130 to the chosen destination).

In the foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of FIGS. 1through 4, voice-attendant services (e.g., services provided by VASNs180, 185) are, for ease of discussion, limited to directory assistedcall placement and information retrieval. Those of ordinary skill in theart will immediately recognize, however, that such services can alsoinclude various other forms of taking action. For example, viacoordination with appropriate service providers, voice-attendantservices consistent with the present invention can include orderplacement (e.g., to effect changes in services provided by utilitycompanies), database modification (e.g., to effect changes in userprofile information at financial institutions), database synchronization(e.g., to match personal contact and scheduling information between auser's office computer and his or her personal digital assistant), andmessage transmission (e.g., to create and send voice-mail and/or e-mailmessages).

Voice-attendant services consistent with the present invention can alsoinclude forms of direct voice-activated call placement. For example,user commands such as “Mom”, “Dad”, “John”, “Mechanic”, “Pharmacy”,“Police”, etc. can be reserved for fast access to frequently calledand/or critical destinations. Moreover, voice-attendant services caninclude various forms of user assistance (e.g., to accommodate userrequests for explanations of available voice-attendant services) and/oruser programming (e.g., to allow a user to set up the aforementioneddirect voice-activated call placement commands, or to allow the user tocustomize certain voice-attendant interface features, such as thelanguage or gender of the attendant's voice).

CONCLUSION

Systems and methods consistent with the present invention provide aninteractive voice-based user interface for telephony. Such a voice-baseduser interface serves as a personal telephone attendant, or personaltelephone concierge, placing calls and/or retrieving a wide variety ofinformation in accordance with a subscribing user's spoken instructions.

Advantageously, systems and methods consistent with present inventionfree the user from having to remember or record telephone numbers.Through verbal interactions with the personal concierge, the user canplace calls and gain access to a wide variety of information just bypicking up a telephone handset, and without ever having to dial adestination number.

The foregoing description of preferred embodiments of the presentinvention provides illustration and description, but is not intended tobe exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed.Modifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteachings or may be acquired from practice of the invention. Whileseries of acts have been described with regard to certain of thefigures, the order of the acts can be varied in other implementationsconsistent with the present invention, and non-dependent acts can beimplemented in parallel.

No element, act, or instruction used in the description of the presentinvention should be construed as critical or essential to the inventionunless explicitly described as such. As used herein, the article “a” isintended to include one or more items. Where only one item is intended,the term “one” or similar language is used.

The scope of the invention is not limited to the foregoing description,and is instead defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

1. A system comprising: a service node configured to communicate with auser device and provide a user associated with the user device with anautomated voice interface upon the user's initiating access to thesystem via the user device, wherein the automated voice interface isconfigured to permit the user to verbally specify a desired objectivecorresponding to any one of a plurality of predefined objectives, thepredefined objectives including directory assisted call placement and atleast one form of information retrieval, wherein, upon receiving thedesired objective from the user, the service node acts to implement thedesired objective, and wherein, when the user specifies a desiredobjective relating to information retrieval by retrieval of Internetsearch results, the service node is configured to request, by voicedinstruction, the user's verbal specification of a preferred Internetsearch engine.
 2. The system according to claim 1, wherein the userdevice is a wireline telephone, and wherein the user initiates access tothe system by taking the wireline telephone off hook.
 3. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein the user device is a wireless telephone,and wherein the user initiates access to the system by dialing apredefined key sequence.
 4. The system according to claim 1, furthercomprising: a switch coupled to the user device and the service node,the switch being configured to detect the user's initiating access tothe system via the user device.
 5. The system according to claim 4,wherein the switch is at least one of a service switching point and amobile switching center.
 6. The system according to claim 4, furthercomprising: a service control system in communication with both theswitch and the service node; wherein the switch is configured to passinformation identifying the user device to the service control systemupon detecting the user's having initiated access to the system via theuser device.
 7. The system according to claim 6, wherein the servicecontrol system is configured to verify a voice interface servicesubscription for the user device prior to setting up a communicationchannel between the service node and the user device.
 8. The systemaccording to claim 6, wherein the switch, the service control point, andthe service node communicate in accordance with Advanced IntelligentNetwork protocols.
 9. The system according to claim 1, wherein when theuser specifies a desired objective of directory assisted call placement,the service node is configured to: request, by voiced instruction, theuser's verbal specification of a destination, retrieve a telephonenumber associated with the verbally specified destination, and initiateconnection of the user device to a device corresponding to the retrievednumber.
 10. The system according to claim 1, wherein the at least oneform of information retrieval includes at least one of retrieval ofInternet search results, retrieval of market results, retrieval ofdriving directions, retrieval of weather conditions, retrieval ofaccount data, retrieval of personal contact information, retrieval ofe-mail messages, and retrieval of service order status.
 11. The systemaccording to claim 1, wherein, when the user specifies a desiredobjective relating to information retrieval, the service node isconfigured to: request, by voiced instruction, the user's verbalspecification of an information item, retrieve the verbally specifiedinformation item from an information source, and voice the informationitem to the user via the user device.
 12. The system according to claim1, wherein the plurality of predefined objectives includes at least oneof direct voice-activated call placement, placing an order, modifying adatabase, synchronizing two or more databases, and sending a message.13. The system according to claim 12, wherein when the user specifies adesired objective corresponding to a particular instance of directvoice-activated call placement, the service node is configured toinitiate connection of the user device to a destination deviceassociated with the particular instance of direct voice-activated callplacement.
 14. A computerized method comprising: voicing a request to auser, upon the user's initiating access to a communication system, thatthe user identify an intended objective, said voicing and saidinitiating implemented by operation of a computer; awaiting the user'sresponse to the voiced request: selecting, based upon the user'sresponse, one of a plurality of predefined objectives, the predefinedobjectives including directory assisted call placement and at least oneform of information retrieval; and acting to implement the selectedobjective; wherein when the selected objective relates to informationretrieval by retrieval of Internet search results, the acting toimplement the selected objective comprises requesting, by voicedinstruction, the user's verbal specification of a preferred Internetsearch engine.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one formof information retrieval includes at least one of retrieval of Internetsearch results, retrieval of market results, retrieval of drivingdirections, retrieval of weather conditions, retrieval of account data,retrieval of personal contact information, retrieval of e-mail messages,and retrieval of service order status.
 16. The method of claim 14,wherein, when the selected objective is directory assisted callplacement, the acting to implement the selected objective includes:voicing to the user a request that the user verbally identify adestination, retrieving a telephone number associated with thedestination, and using the retrieved number to initiate a call betweenthe user and the destination.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein, whenthe selected objective is related to information retrieval, the actingto implement the selected objective includes: request, by voicedinstruction, the user's verbal specification of an information item,retrieve the verbally specified information item from an informationsource, and voice the information item to the user via the user device.18. The method of claim 14, further comprising: receiving a request froma user device to initiate access to the communication system; verifyinga voice interface service subscription for the user device prior tovoicing the request.
 19. The method of claim 14, wherein the pluralityof predefined objectives includes at least one of direct voice-activatedcall placement, placing an order, modifying a database, synchronizingtwo or more databases, and sending a message.
 20. The method of claim19, wherein when the specified objective corresponds to a particularinstance of direct voice-activated call placement, the acting toimplement the selected objective includes initiating connection of theuser device to a destination device associated with the particularinstance of direct voice-activated call placement.
 21. A systemcomprising: a switch, the switch providing access for a user device; aservice control system providing access to a user database; and aservice node in communication with the switch and the service controlsystem, the service node comprising: logic configured to communicatewith the user device and to provide a user of the system with anautomated voice interface upon the user's initiating access to thesystem via the user device, wherein the automated voice interface isconfigured to permit the user to verbally specify a desired objectivecorresponding to any one of a plurality of predefined objectives, thepredefined objectives including call placement and at least one form ofinformation retrieval, and wherein, upon receiving the desired objectivefrom the user, the service node acts to implement the desired objective,wherein when the user specifies a desired objective'relating toinformation retrieval by retrieval of Internet search results, theservice node is configured to request, by voiced instruction, the user'sverbal specification of a preferred Internet search engine.
 22. Thesystem of claim 21, wherein the switch includes a service switchingpoint, the service control system includes a service control point, andcommunication between the switch, service control system and servicenode is in accordance with Advanced Intelligent Network protocols. 23.The system of claim 21, wherein the switch is configured to detect theuser's initiating access to the system via the user device and transmita first message to the service control system as a result of theinitiating; and wherein the service control system is configured toreceive the first message, determine whether the user is a voiceinterface service subscriber, and send a second message to the switch tocause the establishment of a link between the user device and theservice node when the user is determined to be a subscriber.
 24. Thesystem of claim 23 wherein the first message includes an identifierassociated with the user device.
 25. The system of claim 23, wherein theservice control system is further configured to send a third message tothe service node indicating a request for communication, the servicenode is further configured to, in response to the third message,transmit a port number to the service control system, and wherein theservice control system includes the port number in the second message.